In recent years, UASs have been developed and put into use in different applications. Besides UASs such as large drones used in military applications, smaller consumer-level UASs have recently become more popular in civilian applications due to their ease of use. For example, smaller self-stabilizing UASs are now commonly used by aviation enthusiasts with little or no flight training, similar to how small-scale airplanes and helicopters have been used by skilled hobbyists for some time.
More recently, UASs have been used as display items, to carry objects and serve other functions. For example, UASs have been fitted with lights and flown in formation under computer control by the Austrian group Ars Electronica in 2012 to provide a visual display where the positions of the lights may be varied. As another example, U.S. Publication No. 2014/0236388 by Disney Enterprises, discloses the use of lighted UASs that fly under computer control. In this application, the lighted UASs are referred to as flying lanterns or flying pixels (flixels).
It has also been recently suggested that UASs may be used to transport a screen onto which an image may be projected. This is shown in U.S. Publication No. 2014/0233099 by Disney Enterprises where ground-based projectors shine light onto screens held aloft by UASs.
However, it may be difficult to project an image from the ground onto a screen held aloft, for example, in windy conditions if the screen is unstable. In addition, the scope of a UAS's flight pattern may be significantly restricted due to the limited range of the projected images. Accordingly, there is a need for an improved display screen that may be held aloft by one or more UAS(s).
There has also been disclosure of the use of LED screens on the sides of aircraft such as blimps. However, the areas in which blimps may fly is limited given their significant size. Indeed, it would be impracticable to fly a blimp into a relatively small or tight airspace. Accordingly, there is a need for a flying vehicle that may provide a display screen in relatively small airspaces so that, for example, the screen may be included in a water and light show or other form of entertainment.
In addition, due to the complexity and generally large size of modern water and light shows, it may be difficult for audience members to have a full view of all of the various elements that the water display may offer for enjoyment. And while ground based camera and display systems may provide some additional views to some of the audience members, it may be very difficult for these systems to adequately capture images and video from elevated vantage points and adequately display them to the audience below. There is therefore a need for an improved system that may be elevated to capture images and video from previously unachievable vantage points and display them to the audience below to enjoy.